DOI issue:
No. 373 (April 1924)
DOI article:The poster designs of Mr. Fred Taylor, R.I.
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21399#0206
THE POSTER DESIGNS OF MR. FRED TAYLOR, R.I.
It is the hope of the writer of this article
that it may serve not only as an apprecia-
tion of the work of an artist who has done
much to improve the standard of poster
design in this country, but that it may help,
in some small degree, to raise the status of
commercial art in popular estimation. The
day has passed when achievements of a
commercial nature can be regarded as in-
herently inferior because they are for
profit. No man is less worthy of esteem
because he earns his living, and the make-
believe which accords acknowledgment
only in the absence of direct financial
return or when its presence is thinly
veiled, is inconsistent with the common-
sense of existence, 0000
In spite of all that one hears to the
contrary, there is plenty of work waiting
for artists. But it is work of a serious
nature and not casual employment for the
poseur. There must be no condescen-
POSTER DESIGN BY
FRED TAYLOR, R.I.
sion about it, no assumed superiority
which refuses to learn. The absence of
apprenticeship does not eliminate the ne-
cessity for all that apprenticeship applies.
Successful emergence from the period of
novitiate will not be accomplished without
very real work, and the kicks will often be
more numerous than the ha’pence, but
equally necessary. 0000
Given reasonable ability and application,
such as is demanded in other walks of
commercial life, the return is commensu-
rate. There is no short cut to the making
of an artist any more than there is to the
making of a mechanical engineer. No
artist of first rank ever attained his position
without corresponding hard work. To some
the work may be more congenial than to
others, but it cannot be eliminated. 0
[All the posters here illustrated were executed for
the London and North Eastern Railway Company.]
It is the hope of the writer of this article
that it may serve not only as an apprecia-
tion of the work of an artist who has done
much to improve the standard of poster
design in this country, but that it may help,
in some small degree, to raise the status of
commercial art in popular estimation. The
day has passed when achievements of a
commercial nature can be regarded as in-
herently inferior because they are for
profit. No man is less worthy of esteem
because he earns his living, and the make-
believe which accords acknowledgment
only in the absence of direct financial
return or when its presence is thinly
veiled, is inconsistent with the common-
sense of existence, 0000
In spite of all that one hears to the
contrary, there is plenty of work waiting
for artists. But it is work of a serious
nature and not casual employment for the
poseur. There must be no condescen-
POSTER DESIGN BY
FRED TAYLOR, R.I.
sion about it, no assumed superiority
which refuses to learn. The absence of
apprenticeship does not eliminate the ne-
cessity for all that apprenticeship applies.
Successful emergence from the period of
novitiate will not be accomplished without
very real work, and the kicks will often be
more numerous than the ha’pence, but
equally necessary. 0000
Given reasonable ability and application,
such as is demanded in other walks of
commercial life, the return is commensu-
rate. There is no short cut to the making
of an artist any more than there is to the
making of a mechanical engineer. No
artist of first rank ever attained his position
without corresponding hard work. To some
the work may be more congenial than to
others, but it cannot be eliminated. 0
[All the posters here illustrated were executed for
the London and North Eastern Railway Company.]